Fort-ojst-thb-main



Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,635

- 0. HUBMANN APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING AND COOLING GASES Filed Nov. 8, 1926 In vent'op:

Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

Ul'lEb STATES PATENT QFFICE.

OTTO I'IUBMANN, OF FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, GERIVEANY, ASSIGNGR TO METALL- BANK & lLE'IALLUR-GISCHE GESELLSCHAFT AKTIENGESELLSOHAFT, OF FRANK- FURT-ON-TI-IE-MAIN, GERMANY, A GQRPOEATION OF GERMANY.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING AND COOLING GASES.

Application filed l lovember E5, 1926, Serial No. 147,1}? and in Germany August 8, 1925.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleansingand cooling gases, and particularly to apparatus for separating from gases solid or liquid particles suspanded therein by contacting a liquid therewith.

In the treatment of gases with liquids whether for cleansing, cooling, or similar purposes, it is essential that the contact between the gas and liquid be as intimate as possible.

Prior to my invention, the methods ordinarily used. for producing this effect involved spraying the liquid into a chamber filled with the gas, or passing the liquid and gas simultaneously through a chan'lbcr filled with coke or other coarse granular material or provided with a system of baffle plates or the use of centrifugal washers. These methods, while sutlicient in some respects, are not entirely satisfactory. The apparatus required is usually bulky and of expensive construction. In addition, the passage of the gas through contacting apparatus of the type referred to entails a considerable drop in pressure, and consequently the use of a number of pumps which considerably increases the operating cost.

The provision of apparatus for cleansing and. cooling gases which will not be subject to the defects which characterize those used heretofore, is the principle object of the present invention.

Accordin to this invention a thorough cleansing or cooling of gases is secured by passing the gases at an increased velocity tl'lrough narrow passageways, the walls of which are kept suitably moistened, as for instance by passing a streamof the treating liquid, thcreovcr, and within which the gas stream is deflected as sharply as possible at the narrowest point.

By reason of this sharp change of direction at a high velocity. suspended particles such as dust and mist are thrown against the walls of the passageways after which they are quickly taken up and carried away by the cleansing liquid. This separation of the suspended particles is due to the action of centrifugal force, and it follows that the separating elleet may be intensified to the maximum by makin as small as possible the radius of curvature of the deflections. The construction also results in a farting of with the treating liquids on account of whirls formed within the passageways, and because the drops of the washing liquid are carried along by the gas stream.

in the prefer-rec form of the invention, the gas stream before entering the narrow pas sagcway is subjected to a gradual decrease in its cross sectional area thus increasing its velocity until it is traveling at the desired velocity it enters the narrow passageway. in general, the effectiveness of the apparatus is 'ncreaserl by increasing the velocity of the gas through the narrow passageway. However, the maximum velocity attainable in practice will vary with specific conditions such as the amount and character of the gas irezucd, the type of apparatus used and the like 1* or cliiciont operation the gas velocity through the narrow passageway should 6X- coed shim/sec. This relatively high velocity may be imparted to the as stream by pass ing it into the narrow passageway through a converging inlet. Practically no energy is lost by this change in velocity, the gas stream merely being changed from one having a low velocity and large cross sectional area to a stream of high velocity and of a corrcspmidiugly smaller cross sectional area. After passing through the narrow circuitous passageway, the gas stream is restored to its original velocity and pressure, except for frictional losses by gradually increasing its cross sectional area, which may be accomplished by withdrawing the gas stream through a gradually diverging outlet. This outlet also serves as a convenient means for introducing the wash liquid into the ins sageway. .lt possible that the excellent; scrubbing action of the arrangement may be attrilulted in part to a separation of any particles remaining in the gas after its transfer through the narrow passageway in this diverging outlet as the gas stream is being restored to its initial velocity.

in the treatment of gases, according to my invention, it is preferable to complete the operation as far as poss ble in a single passageway because the maximum result from the power used in overcoming frictional loss within the passageway is thereby attained,

since the effectiveness of the device, which Will heremafter be referred to as the contactmg unit, directly proporti final t the porti'onal to the radius of curvature of the deflection. That is to say, the greatest cleansing e'liect per unit of power consumption is ingeneral obtainable by the useot a single passageway. In some instances it may be advisable to arrange a number of these contact'ng units in series, or in other arrangements which will be described in detail in connection with the drawings. 7

In case the gas treated contains liquid s us pensions such as tar mists, the introduction of a liquid into the passageway from some external source will usually be unnecessary as the liquid particles initially deposited within the passageway will serve as a washliquid to remove those subsequently deposited.

It the gases treated contain suspensions, wh ch tend to form firmly adhering encrustations upon the walls of the narrow passageway, special precautions must be taken to remove them before stoppage of the gas passageway occurs. This may be done by forcing a large volume of wash-liquid, either "intermittently or continuously through the passageway, or by arranging the contacting units in interchangeable groups which may be removed and cleansed Without interruptingthe process The special forms of apparatus which have been designed to accomplish these functions possess a number oi other additional advantages and comprise a part of my invention.

According to one of these arrangements the contacting units, each of which comprises one of the narrow circuitous gas passageways, are arranged on a rotatablesupport and a uniform supply of the wash liquid through the passagewaysis thus maintained regardless oi? where it may be introduced. A similar even distribution of the wash liquid may be secured by a relative movement of the elements defining the gas passageway, or

by a relative movement of the walls of the passageway with respect to the wash liquid.

The separation of liquid suspensions such as, tar mists from gases containing water vapour by washing with tar alone presents special difliculties because of the danger of adherence to the wall of the passage and because of the high temperatures at which the gas must be treated. The treatment of such gases with cold water might be suflicient, however, in some instances, due to the tendency of tar to form emulsions with water which are difficult to break down, it has been found more advantageous to complete the separation of the tar mists in a process comprising two stages. In the first of these, the gas is given a preliminary scrubbing treatment at a temperature over its dew point. The preliminary scrubbing may be effected in an apparatus comprising any suitable one of the various modifications of my invention, and if necessary tar may beused as a wash line.

verging inlet and diverging outlet.

sorbed by the wash liquid is usually suificient to break up any tar emulsions formed.

therein.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that my invention is one of wide applicability, and one that may be embodied in a variety of structures and for a number of (liiierent purposes. As illustrative of the scope and advantages of the invention, a number of modifications of the invention will be described hereinafter, in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a Vertical sectional View of one form of the invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views of another form of the invention in which the contactunits are arranged in the form of a revolvab'le cylinder, Fig. 2 being taken along the line 2--2' of Fig. 3, and Fig. 3 being taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4: is a detail of the construction of the contacting units used in the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 1 illustrates a simple form of apparatus embodying my invention, in which the inlet andfoutlet openings to the restricted contacting passageway are circular in out- This apparatus comprises a cylindrical frame or casing 4 having a band 2 se cured to its inner periphery. A plate 3 is rotatably supported in the center of the casing 3 by the axle 5. The edge of the plate 3 and the inner periphery of the band 2 are formed so as to provide two of the contacting'u'nits in a series relationshi 'i, each of the units comprising a narrow circuitous passageway designed to efiect'a rapid change in the direction of flowing the gas stream therethrough, and having a gradually conashing liquid is supplied to the device from any convenient source such as the pipe 6-. The gas treated may be introduced either from the top or bottom; but for cooling or adsorbing purposes countercurrent'flow is more effectiy'e, and it also assists in the even distribution of the wash liquid. Rotation of E (a O the plate 3 serves to distribute the wash liquid throughout the narrow contacting passageway, and efiects a uniform rinsing. of the entire passageway.

In the device s iown in Figs. 24 inclusive,

the contacting units are arranged in the term of a cylinder 9. The 1nd1v1dual contacting units are formed by the rings or till washers 10, the construction of these being illustrated in detail by Fig. l. The cylinder 9 comprises a number of these rings suitably secured together and arranged as shown in a spaced. relationship so as to form a number of parallel contracting units, and is revolvably mounted in the casing 8 on the horizontal axis 16. (The axis 16 is supported by bearings 17 and 18, and the cylinder 9 is connected with axis l6,by means of the spider i l and the hubs 15.) This cylinder 9 may be made up of a plurality of sep arate and interchangeable parts to facilitate cleaning or repairing operation. The lower portion of the contacting cylinder is immersed in a body of the washing liquid, the level of which may be varied by rotating pipe 12. ash liquid is supplied to the cylinder 9 at the rate required through the conduit 13, while the introduced through the next 7 into the upper portion of the casing 8, from where it passes through the contacting units into the interior of the cylinder 9, and then exits from the apparatus through the outlet pipe 11. The aggregate cross sectional area of the gas passageways may be varied by changing the level of this wash liquid, by rotating the overflow pipe 12, and it is thus possible to impart a high velocity to the introduced into the contracting passageway regardless oliwhether the volumes of gas treated are large or small. The total or aggregate cross sectional area may also be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the rate of rotation of the cylinder 9 through the wash liquid, since the larger volume o'l wash water carried along at the higher speeds tends to ti'urther restrict the narrow passageways.

This particular form of my ii'ivention, in which the contacting units are arranged in the form ot a cylinder and dipped at intervals in the washing liquid, is particularly well ad apted. to the treatment of gases tending to Form encrustations on the walls of the contacting units. The large volume of: water forced through the narrow passage ways during the period of iinu'iersion will remove any deposited matter, and this elitect may be increased by increasing the rate of rotation oi the cylinder.

From the foregoing it will be evident that my invention provides an effective apparatus tor the washing and cooling oi gases and one which requires "far less space than the washing towers and similar devices used heretofore. The energy required to operate the coolers and scrubbers embodying my invention in passing the gas therethrough, rotating the contacting units, etc., has been found to be much less than that required to operate the ordinary forms of centrifugal washers.

I claim:

1. In combination, in an apparatus for separating from gases particles suspended therein, a chamber, a and liquid contacting means disposed within said chamber, said means including a cylindrical member revolvablc about its axis, the walls of said cylinder having a plurality of narrow passageways adapted to the passage of fluids provided therein, each of said pasageways having a converging fluid inlet and a diverging fluid dlscharge opening, and means for introducing a and liquid into the chamber and simultaneously through the passageways, the walls of said chamber cooperating with said cylinder to prevent the gases from traversing said chamber except through the narrow pasageways in the walls of said cylinder.

2. In combination, in an apparatus for separating from gases particles suspended therein, a chamber, a gas and liquid contacting means disposed within said chamher, said means including a cylindrical mem ber revolvable about its axis,'the walls oi said cylinder having a plurality of narrow passageways adapted to the passage of fluids provided thcrein,each of said passageways having a converging fluid inlet and a diverging tiuid discharge opening, means for introducing a gas and liquid into the chamher and simultaneously through the passageways, and means for regulating the flow of the liquid through said pasageways, the Walls of said chamber cooperating with said cylinder to prevent the gases from traversing said chamber except through the narrow passageways in the walls of said cylindcr.

3.111 combination, in an apparatus for separating from gases particles suspended therein, a chamber, a gas and liquid contacting means disposed within said chamber, said means including a cylirulrical member revolvable about its axis, the walls of said cylinder having a plurality of narrow passageways adapted to the passage of fluids provided therein, each of said passageways having a converging fluid inlet and a di verging fluid discharge opening, means for introducing a gas and liquid into the chamher and simultaneously through the passageways, and means for closing part of said passageways, the walls of aid chamber cooperating with said cylindcr to prevent the gases from traversing said chamber except through the narrow passageways in, the walls of said cylinder.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

@TTC HUEll/LANN. 

